Diagnosis of reaginic allergy with house dust, animal dander and pollen allergens in adult patients. IV. An evaluation of the clinical value of skin test, radioallergosorbent test, case history and combinations of these methods.

With the assumption that a provocation test gives the correct diagnosis, the possibility of predicting an allergy by means of the case history, a skin test, radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and combinations of these methods was evaluated for house dust, cow-, cat-, dog-, and horse-dander, timothy-, marguerite-, dandelion- and birch-pollen allergens. All procedures were found to give a reliable diagnosis provided that a group with doubtfoul group, requiring further diagnostic investigations, was smallest when all three methods were used in combination. It is suggested that, in addition to the case history, the first procedure in routine diagnosis with inhalant allergens should be a skin test. RAST should be used primarily for selected cases and as a complement to the case history and skin test, making provocation tests superfluous for the majority of patients.